Royal Marine Herbert Hill 26 yrs service

[Guest Kieron Hill]

Can anyone help me piece together the information i.e. ships names, movements etc..I have on my late grandfather or by chance did anyone serve alongside him?

Royal Marine PO 19359 Herbert Hill

First entry in the service on enlistment 16th May 1916 at the age of 18 years

To the 18th May 1942 – 26 years of service.

Recruit, depot deal 16th May 1916 – 29th Nov 1916

Portsmouth Division 30th Nov 1916 – 31st Dec 1916

~Do~ 1st Jan 1917 – 28th May 1917 (what does ~do~ mean?)

Andes 29th May 1917 – 31st Dec 1917

Andes 1st Jan 1918 – 31st Dec 1918

Andes 1st Jan 1919 – 26th Feb 1919

Portsmouth Division 27th Feb 1919 – 30th May 1919

Fox 31st May 1919 – 10th Oct 1919

Portsmouth Division 11th Oct 1919 – 24th Nov 1919

Colombo 26th Nov 1919 – 31st Dec 1919

Colombo 1st Jan 1920 – 31st Dec 1920

Colombo 1st Jan 1921 – 31st Dec 1921

Haokino 20th Jan 1921 – 12th Apr 1921 (Haokino is just a guess, unable to read)

Colombo 13th Apr 1921 – 31st Dec 1921

Colombo 1st Jan 1922 – 14th Mar 1922

~do~ in passage 15th Mar 1922 – 10th Apr 1922

Portsmouth Division 11th Apr 1922 – 16th Jul 1922

DiDo 17th Jul 1922 – 17th Sept 1922

Portsmouth Division 18th Sept 1922 – 19th Sept 1922

H.B.L Porto (11thRM Bn Mid) 20th Sept 1922 – 20th Dec 1922

~do~ 21st Dec 1922 – 31st Dec 1922

~do~ 1st Jan 1923 – 26th Jan 1923

~do~ 27th Jan 1923 – 26th Mar 1923

Portsmouth Division 27th Mar 1923 – 3rd May 1923

Barham 4th May 1923 – 31st Dec 1923

Barham 1st Jan 1924 – 31st Dec 1924

Barham 1st Jan 1925 – 11th Nov 1925

Portsmouth Division 12th Nov 1925 – 31st Dec 1925

~do~ 1st Jan 1926 – 9th Apr 1926

Iron Duke 10th April 1926 – 24th May 1926

Portsmouth Division 25th May 1926 – 20th Aug 1926

Yarmouth 21st Aug 1926 – 31st Dec 1926

~do~ 1st Jan 1927 – 4th Feb 1927

Ports division 5th Feb 1927 – 31st Dec1927

Ports division 1st Jan 1928 – 28th Dec 1928

Gormorant 29th Dec 1928 – 31st Dec 1928

Gormorant 1st Jan 1929 – 31st Dec 1929

Gormorant 1st Jan 1930 – 31st Dec 1930

Gormorant 1st Jan 1931 – 5th Aug 1931

Gormorant in passage 6th Aug 1931 – 9th Aug 1931

Ports Division 10th Aug 1931 – 3rd Oct 1932

Iron Duke 4th Oct 1932 – 19th Feb 1935

Portsmouth Division 20th Feb 1935 – 6th May 1935

Iron Duke 7th May 1935 – 30th May 1935

Portsmouth Division 31st May 1935 – 11th July 1938

Portsmouth Division 28th Sep 1938 – 2nd Oct 1938

Portsmouth Division 25th Aug 1939 – 25th Aug 1939

~do~ 25th Sep 1939 – 1st Nov 1939

President III 2nd Nov 1939 – 14th July 1940

Gaglet 15th July 15th July 1940 – 17th July 1940 (could be baglet, laglet, saglet)

President III 18th July 1940 – 31st Dec 1940

President III 1st Jan 1941 – 10th Jan 1941

Portsmouth Division 11th Jan 1941 – 26th June 1941

Lanopus 27th Jun 1941 – 28th Jul 1941 (could be canopus, sanopus

Afrikauda IV 29th July 1941 – 19th Jan 1942

Afrikauda IV in passage 20th Jan 1942 – 19th Feb 1942

Ports Division 20th Feb 1942 – 18th may 1942

I would be greatful for any information, I'm unable to read all the information

but if someone can help it would be fantastic. Also would anyone know

what medals he would have been entitled to?

Regards Kieron Hill

[Yorts]

Hi Kieron,

His service number indicates a long service enlistment (as opposed to hostilities only / short service enlistments which had a -S suffix). A 'sea service' marine, as opposed to a member of the RND.

Deal depot was the RM basic training school where all sea service marines were trained. The buildings are still there, although they are flats now. It was where the IRA bomb went off in the 1980s.

HMS Fox was a second class cruiser of the Astraea class lauched 15/6/1893, and sold to the breakers in 1920. Your man must have served in one of the last commissions aboard her. Statistics:

Displacement: 4,360 tons.

I.H.P: 7,500

Length: 320 feet.

Beam: 49 ft 6 ins.

Depth: 19 ft.

Speed: c. 19 knots.

Complement: 318.

Armament: Two 6 in quick firing guns, eight 4.7 in quick firing guns, ten 6 pdr quick firers, one 3pdr quick firer and four 18 in torpedo tubes.

Rgds,

Alex.

[Yorts]

HMS Colombo. Built by Fairfield and laid down on the 8th of December 1917, Launched on the 18th December 1918. Served with the 5th Light Cruiser Squadron in the China sea Between July 1919 and march 1922. The to the west Indies to join the 4th Cruiser squadron. Scrapped at Newport May 1948.

[Yorts]

HBL Porto? Maybe HBL Ports (for Portsmouth) for 11th Royal Marine Battalion?

HMS Barham was a battleship which saw service at Jutland and was sunk by a U-Boat in WW2. She is very well known and you should have no difficulty in finding out information on the net or in your local library.

Compliment: 1,124 to 1,258.

Armament:

8 15-inch Guns and 12 6-inch guns and 8 4-inch A.A Guns 16 2-pdr AA Guns and 1 aircraft.

Speed: 24 knots.

Displacement: 31,100 tons.

[Yorts]

HMS Iron Duke was built at Cammell Laird in Portsmouth and Launched on the 12th October 1912. after 1931 she became a Gunnery Training Ship and Base Ship for the Home Fleet between 1939 and 1945. She was scrapped at Faslane in Scotland 19th August 1946.

Compliment: 589.

Armament: 6 13.5 inch Guns (3 x 2 ) and 12 6-inch Guns.

Machinery: 4-shaft Turbines, S.H.P 31,000 giving a top speed of 21.25 knots.

Displacement: 21,250 tons.

She'd seen happier days than in the photo below!

[Yorts]

Second time lucky (I lost the first post!).

Canopus I believe was a shore base in WW2 at Port Said. President III was an accounting base for men abaord defensively armed merchant ships. I can't find a reference to an Afrikauda IV, but maybe someone else knows something about the vessel.

With regards to medals. If 'HMS Andes' was a seagoing appointment then he would be entitled to a British War Medal and Victory Medal. If it was a shore base then a BWM only. The rolls for these are at the PRO and can be consulted. He had enough service for a RN Long Service Good Conduct Medal but you don't state anything about his behaviour so I can't comment on whether he actually received the award. As for WW2 service, a 1939-45 star, 39-45 star and possibly an Atlantic star at a guess. What do others think? Maybe an Africa star depending on what theatre Afrikauda IV was serving in.

Feel free to PM me if you have more specific RM questions.

Rgds,

Alex.

[Guest Kieron Hill]

I am so grateful for the information, it's briilant!!!

It make great reading.

I've done a bit o reasearch myself and found that he

must of been part of the North Russian Expeditionary

Force 1918 - 1919 onboard HMS Fox.

One snippet of information:

Whilst stuck in the ice field off Cape Goroditzki, White

Sea on Monday May 12th 1919.

"We had a very nice run at 12 knots until 8.45 on Sunday

morning when the ice pack was encounted. The ice appeared

first of all like a thin film which gradually grew thicker and

thicker until by 9.30 the ice encounted was about 7ft thick

in parts. Soon after 9.30 the "Bacchus" made signals that

she was surrounded with ice and jammed, and we all stopped"

There is also reference to seal hunting parties "sixteen seals

were bagged"

but one thing confuses me he was at Portsmouth Division

from 27th Feb 1919 to 30th May 1919 and then appears

to be on the HMS Fox from 31st May 1919 to 10th Oct

1919...how would he of got out to this expeditionary force?

Thanks again for your info

Regards

Kieron

[Edward_N_Kelly]

Gormorant could be HMS Cormorant the depot at Gibraltar. The refence to being "in passage" means he is aboard (probably) a civilian vessel for return to UK.

Do is short handed version of ditto (same as).

Andes would be HMS Andes an Armed Mechant Cruiser that served at least on the Norwegian patrol (came into action with Grief (raider) in company with Alcantara (sunk) 29FEB16). She appears to have been renamed Atlantis sometime during the interwar years as Andes (II) served as a troopship in WW2.

Some details are:

Andes (I) 15,620 Harland & Wolff, Belfast 1913-1946 Steel Screw steamer

Edward

[Guest Kieron Hill]

Cheers Edward,

This would make sense as I've a letter and it

starts:

Information has been received from the

Admiralty that there will be no service passage

available about the 6th August for your

return to Gibraltar.

You are therefore to make your own arrangements

to return to Gibraltar on the 6th August, 1930

informing me by a.m. 6th August of what

arrangements you have made.

Signed

COMMANDER

(sent from Royal Naval Barracks Portsmouth)

I've then got some sort of baggage ticket from N.Y.K Line

for passage to Gibraltar for the sum of two shillings

and six pence and a ticket from Dean & Dawson Ltd

agents for £5, 7 shillings and 6 pence.

My wife has become a research widow!!!!

Thanks again Edward